PLNU News

Point Loma Nazarene University has been named one of the City of San Diego's "Recyclers of the Year." The winners of the 20th Annual Waste Reduction and Recycling Awards were honored April 12 at the San Diego Zoo.

The awards are given to recognize businesses and nonprofit organizations that help reduce waste, especially waste that would have otherwise ended up at the Miramar Landfill.

PLNU was honored alongside other environmentally savvy organizations such as the New Children's Museum, Sea World, the San Diego Zoo Global, Qualcomm, Albertson's, and the San Diego Padres.

Among PLNU's many green efforts are a solar panel system providing nearly a megawatt of photovoltaic solar power; solar powered hot water heating in the residence halls; wide scale recycling; food waste composting; water-saving efforts such as dual-flush toilets, waterless urinals, water-saving shower switches, filtered water "hydration stations" on campus where students can fill up reusable water bottles; and educational and awareness building efforts such as a minor in sustainability and an annual "Creation Care Week."

"We are honored to be one of San Diego's Recyclers of the Year," said campus sustainability coordinator Alexandria Bennett. "Caring for God's creation is one of the university's core values, and we are committed to continually striving to be wise stewards of the earth and its resources."

The Fermanian School of Business of Point Loma Nazarene University named its “Student-Entrepreneur of the Year” at the annual Entrepreneur Enrichment Program (EEP) Banquet on Wednesday, April 4, 2012.

The team of 2011 alum Nitasha Stiritz and current seniors Arthur Cachero and Blake Harrison received the top entrepreneur award for their innovative ‘Launch Pad’ business plan, which will produce a web-based application to communicate critical firm startup information via enhanced video in 1-2 minutes to a prospective investor or backer. The Launch Pad product will allow small startups to utilize quickly and efficiently tools that typically have been available to only larger firms. From the Entrepreneur Enrichment Endowment, created concurrently with the launching of the EEP in 2007, a cash award of $2,500 was provided to the Launch Pad team.

Receiving $1,000, including the $500 Dave and Dorothy Latter Free Enterprise Award, was senior business student Matt Joslyn for his project, “Plane & Simple Tours.” His business plan is to provide students with inexpensive trips and services that cater toward their liking. By equipping all travelers with the basic tools to create their own unique adventure at low cost, he plans to attract a broader range of travelers. The four other participating projects each received smaller cash awards. In addition, Phil Herbig, chief financial officer of WesPak Sales in Dinuba, Calif., received the “Inspirational Mentor Award” chosen by his peers and entrepreneurs, and the Plane and Simple Plan he co-mentored with Robert Harp and Stephen Miller will receive a $15,000 comprehensive social media marketing plan provided by the San Diego-based firm ZBiz, founded by PLNU alum Zach Johnson.

"Over the past five years, I have had the privilege of being a mentor and a friend to young men and women who have a vision for the future,” said Herbig. “I have found the mentor process to be reciprocal as these young men and women force me to think outside the box."

The banquet represented the completion of the fifth year of PLNU’s Entrepreneur Enrichment Program. The business plans this year represented a diversity of for-profit and non-profit interests from students and recent graduates from both the undergraduate and MBA programs at PLNU. Each fall semester, students are encouraged to present their business ideas in early stage form at the EEP Exposition, where the projects are evaluated by experienced entrepreneurs, including past EEP participants. Continuing projects were then assigned a team of mentors comprised of three, experienced business professionals, including the past PLNU Entrepreneurs of the Year, who provided counsel and advice to the projects and entrepreneurs. The EEP is unique in that it allows both undergraduate students from all disciplines and also MBA students to participate in the same entrepreneurial program.

EEP co-founder and mentor Craig Van Hulzen, CEO of Van Hulzen Asset Management in Folsom, Calif., reflected on the mentoring process. “The extraordinary effort of the student participants, using their free time to build on a dream, to work with peers, willing to learn from mentors, and to create opportunity for themselves is highly commendable. It speaks well of their character, their families, and PLNU’s Fermanian Business School. These are the qualities of successful entrepreneurs.” All of the plans were privately reviewed and then scored by a group of twenty mentors and EEP judges, and the results were kept confidential until the announcement at the banquet on Wednesday night. Additional information on the EEP and related activities of the Fermanian School of Business and the Fermanian Business & Economic Institute at Point Loma Nazarene University can be found at www.pointloma.edu/Fermanian.

The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) recently announced reaccreditation for PLNU’s School of Education (SOE) and all of its credential programs.

“This continuing accreditation reflects the high quality of PLNU’s education programs and credentials as we develop and serve education professionals,” said Dr. Bob Brower, PLNU president. “Congratulations to Dr. Gary Railsback [SOE dean] and all the members of the School of Education for a job well done!”

PLNU’s School of Education offers undergraduate degrees, master’s degrees, credentials, and certificates. The programs are designed to help students grow professionally and personally, resulting in the capacity to think critically, engage issues with their minds and hearts, and make decisions that make a difference. All this happens within the context of a highly supportive Christian community, where faculty members serve as mentors. The SOE’s district partnerships help serve local education communities and PLNU education students at the same time. Graduate program regional centers are located in Arcadia, Bakersfield, the Inland Empire, and San Diego (Mission Valley).

PLNU is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, and the School of Education credential and certificate programs are accredited by the CTC. PLNU's School of Education is also a candidate for accreditation by NCATE.

Freshman Emmy Merrill is a PLNU student to watch. As a young, breakout, competitive and championship surfer, she’s on fire.

From February 19-25, 2012, Emmy was in Peru where she competed in the ISA Stand Up Paddle and Paddleboard Championship against women of different ages from many different countries. She won first place.

She went into the competition as an 18-year-old champion surfer who has won highly competitive events, as well as national titles for her high school surf team in San Clemente. She’s what Surfline.com calls “the quintessential water-woman,” and we were able to get an interview with her about her surfing career and championship win at ISA.

Point Loma Nazarene University is helping the San Diego Foundation cast a vision for the future of the greater San Diego region.

PLNU is a participating partner in the foundation’s Our Greater San Diego Vision program that is surveying San Diego residents to help create a plan for San Diego’s future. In addition, PLNU’s director of community outreach and governmental relations, Megan Ekard Collins, is one of only 100 people selected from the San Diego region to sit on the Our Greater San Diego Vision council as an ambassador.

“We want to plan for San Diego’s future to help ensure that future generations can enjoy America’s Finest City as much as we do today. We expect 1.3 million more residents in San Diego County in the next 40 years, so now is the ideal time to cast a vision for the way we want our community to grow,” said Ekard.

Survey participants voice their opinions on issues such as education, jobs, housing, the environment, and future amenities such as parks, sports and entertainment venues, libraries, museums, and the arts.

Thus far, PLNU is reporting a survey rate that is eight times higher than most other participating organizations.

Point Loma Nazarene University had the 3rd highest pass rate in California on the 2010 certified public accountant (CPA) exam, according to the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA). PLNU was number one among private and Christian universities. PLNU graduates also had the highest average score on the exam.

“I am pleased and proud of our PLNU accounting alumni,” said accounting professor Carl Hammond. “It is rewarding to see their hard work pay off, so they are able to build valuable careers. It is an honor to teach at a university that recruits this caliber of students.”

The University of California, Berkeley ranked number one with a 60.2 percent pass rate while UCLA took the second spot with 58.6 percent. PLNU was just a tenth of a point behind UCLA with 58.5 percent. Rounding out the top five were the University of Southern California and Chapman University.